


Injuries and Decisions

by penguin97



Category: Women's Soccer RPF
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-05
Updated: 2016-09-05
Packaged: 2018-08-13 02:47:37
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,603
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7959331
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/penguin97/pseuds/penguin97
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>New fic, but my writing probably hasn't improved much since the last one, haha. The title sucks but it's the best I could come up with. This took me forever to type because I got a new laptop and I'm not used to the layout of the keyboard. Also, I don't use my woso blog for like 5 days and all hell breaks loose in the USWNT fandom.</p><p>Obviously this is set after last weekend's matches. And for the sake of it, Hope's marriage never happened. And, I don't actually know who Kelley is roommates with, so that would be why I never name anyone specifically. :/</p>
    </blockquote>





	Injuries and Decisions

**Author's Note:**

> New fic, but my writing probably hasn't improved much since the last one, haha. The title sucks but it's the best I could come up with. This took me forever to type because I got a new laptop and I'm not used to the layout of the keyboard. Also, I don't use my woso blog for like 5 days and all hell breaks loose in the USWNT fandom.
> 
> Obviously this is set after last weekend's matches. And for the sake of it, Hope's marriage never happened. And, I don't actually know who Kelley is roommates with, so that would be why I never name anyone specifically. :/

Kelley sighed as she limped through the door of the house she shared with some of her teammates.

“You sure you’re going to be okay until the girls come back?” Christie asked as she followed the younger defender into the living room, dropping her bag behind the couch.

Kelley nodded as she sat down, bringing her injured foot up onto the coffee table in front of her. “Yeah, I’ll be fine,” she said. “I’ll probably just hang out here watching tv until they get home or something,” she explained. “I’ll probably call Hope to make sure she’s not completely freaking out.”

Christie nodded. “That’s probably a good idea. Tell her I said hi, and that you’ll be back in no time, it’s nothing to worry about,” she said, patting the younger woman’s shoulder.

The right back nodded. “Thanks, Cap,” she said with a small smile. “I’m really hoping it’s nothing serious,” she said sadly.

“Hey, even if your season is over, there’s still national team stuff to think about, plus next season,” Christie reminded gently. 

I know,” Kelley replied. “But with the way the Olympics ended, I think I need a change,” she said.

“What do you mean?” the older player asked, taking a seat on the couch.

“Hope and I have been talking, and we think it might be a good idea for me to go play overseas for a little bit,” Kelley explained quietly. “We haven’t made any decisions or told anybody yet, though,” she added hastily at her captain’s shocked look.

“Does this have anything to do with the tweets from Olympique Lyonnais’s owner?” 

Kelley shook her head. “No, we’ve been talking about this since after the final last season,” she answered. “But because of Olympic qualifiers, the NWSL season, and the Olympics, we figured it wouldn’t work.”

“But now with three years to the next tournament, it could,” Christie added.

“Yeah, but like I said, no decisions have been made. And now with this,” Kelley gestured to her injured ankle, “it still might not happen.”

“Well, even if your season is over for us, you could still go play overseas,” Christie said. “Although, it may affect your call-ups to the national team,” she reminded.

“I know,” the right back agreed. “But like I said, I think I need a change. And if something works out, it may be for the best, even if I stopped getting called up,” she continued. “And, as fun as it is playing for the team, I already have an Olympic gold and a World Cup medal, so it’s not like I’m missing anything,” she reasoned.

“Yes, but, just because you have them already, that doesn’t take away from the excitement of winning more,” the older woman stated.

“True,” Kelley agreed. “But like I said, nothing has been decided.”

“Well, just remember I’m here if you need me,” Christie said.  “Now, I should probably get going to make sure Tasha and the girls haven’t set the house on fire,” she said standing up.

Kelley laughed. “And you thought we were going to be problematic,” she teased.

“You and your roommates are,” Christie replied. “Honestly, how you guys have survived this long on your own I will never understand.” 

“Excuse you, we are adults and can take care of ourselves,” Kelley replied.

“That’s debatable,” Christie smirked. “But, I am going to go. Keep your head up, you’ll be back soon,” she stated.

“Thanks, Cap,” Kelley said, smiling.

With one last pat to the younger defender’s shoulders, Christie made her way out of the house.

Kelley leaned back against the couch, letting out a sigh of annoyance. “This sucks,” she grumbled, tilting her ankle back and forth. 

Before she could get too far in her inner grumblings, her phone rang. Smilingly slightly at Hope’s name on the screen, she answered, “Hey, babe.”

“Hey,” Hope’s voice came from the other end. “Are you okay?” she asked, concern lacing her voice.

“Well, I might be out for the rest of the season,” Kelley replied honestly. “I’m going to get it x-rayed tomorrow, we’ll see what happens.”

“I’m sorry, Kel,” Hope said softly. “I know that’s a disappointing way to end the season.”

The defender sighed. “It sucks,” she whined. “The Olympics was a disaster, and my first game back with Sky Blue this happens,” she grumbled. “I just wanted to finish off the year with a decent season, but now that’s probably over.”

“Hey,” Hope cut in. “Forget about the Olympics, okay? We lost, and it sucks, but it happens. I know what I said after the quarterfinal, but we got outplayed. It was going to happen eventually,” she reprimanded gently. “And as for the season, you guys came close to getting a play-off spot, I’d say that’s pretty good.”

Kelley sighed. “I know, but I missed basically half the season because of the national team, I just wanted to be able to play the last few weeks, you know?”

“Yeah, I know,” Hope replied.

“But enough of me, are you okay?” Kelley turned the conversation. “Are you going to play tomorrow?”

Hope sighed. “No, I don’t think so. Laura gave me some personal leave for tomorrow,” she explained. “And, honestly, I think I might just step down for the rest of the season to figure things out,” she admitted hesitantly.

“You sure that’s what you want?” Kelley asked. “Hope, you know I’ll support whatever you decide, right?”

“Yeah, I do,” the keeper replied quietly. “And yeah, I think it’s for the best. I don’t think I’m ready to return, and Kop’s been handling the backline beautifully, so they’re in good hands,” she explained. “I need to do what’s best for myself right now, and I think this is what needs to be done.”

“Okay, I’m behind you one hundred percent,” Kelley stated.

“Thanks, babe,” Hope replied sincerely. “What do you think about me flying out after I talk to Harvey and the rest of the staff?” she asked.

Kelley smiled widely, though her girlfriend couldn’t see. “Hope, that sounds amazing. Or I could fly out to you, since I won’t be playing next weekend,” she replied.

“Or we could go somewhere else for a few days,” the keeper said. “I just need to get out of Seattle for a bit.”

“Okay, pick somewhere and we’ll go,” Kelley replied.

The two were quiet for a few minutes. Finally, Hope asked, “Have you thought anymore about playing overseas?”

“Yeah,” Kelley replied. “A little bit. I told Cap about it when she dropped me off,” she admitted.

“Okay,” Hope said. “Kelley, answer honestly: do you want to go play in Europe if you can?” she questioned seriously.

“Yeah, I think I do,” the defender replied. “I love Sky Blue, but I’m just not playing my best soccer with them. And I have two gold medals, so I really think now is the time to try this,” she explained. “And it might be nice to get away from all the fans complaining about Ali’s lack of playing time to be honest,” she added quietly.

“Kel, fuck what anybody says about you, okay?” Hope reprimanded seriously, but with a soft tone. “You earned that spot in Jill’s eyes, okay?”

“I know,” Kelley replied. “It’s just hard you know? Every little thing I do is criticized with ‘Krieger could do better’. I just need to get away from that,” she explained.

“Well, if you really want to do it, we can look into it for you,” Hope responded.

“What about you?” Kelley questioned.

“What do you mean?”

“Are you going to stay here?”

“Probably.”

The two went quiet for a moment, before Kelley shyly asked, “Would you go with me?”

“You mean go play with you in Europe?” Hope asked for clarification.

“If you want,” Kelley answered. She shifted on the couch, careful not to jostle her ankle too much. “You don’t have to, I was just wondering,” she rambled.

“No, no,” Hope interrupted. “I don’t think I’d want to play,” she started. “It might be nice to just sit in the stands, watching and cheering you on though.”

“You’d really do that?” the right back asked softly.

“Of course,” Hope replied without hesitation. “Kel, I’m going to stand behind you no matter what. You’ve supported me through all this shit, I’ll support you in whatever you decide,” she explained. 

“You’re the best, you know that?” the younger woman asked.

“No,” Hope disagreed. “You are. I’m just the lucky person who gets to love you,” she stated quietly. 

“Well, I’m lucky to be able to love you,” Kelley replied just as quietly. 

Car lights flashed through the window, and Kelley knew her privacy in the living room was about to end. “Hey, my roommates are back, and I’m in the living room at the moment,” she started. “And honestly, I think I’m going to just go straight to bed. I’ll call you in the morning and we can figure out where we want to go for a short trip, okay?” she asked.

“Yeah, that’s fine,” Hope replied. “I love you, Kel, and no matter what you decide, that’s not going to change,” she stated.

“I love you too,” Kelley replied. “We’ll figure out our next steps, and if you decide you’re done with soccer completely, I’ll support you, and that won’t ever change.”

The front door opens and Kelley can hear her teammates walking in.

“Sounds like your roommates are in, I’ll let you go,” Hope said. “I love you, Kel, and I’ll see you soon. Have a good night.”

“Night, babe, I’ll see you in a few days,” Kelley replied, ending the call. 

**Author's Note:**

> Leave a comment if you like, constructive criticism is always appreciated. Just don't be rude about it.


End file.
